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Our Campaigns

Go Big On Offshore Wind

We need to take full advantage of the enormous opportunity to make our world greener and healthier by harnessing the winds that blow off our Atlantic Coast to supply us with clean, renewable energy.

Thanks in part to our research and action, the nation’s first offshore wind farm is now in operation, three miles off the Rhode Island coast. But it’s just the beginning.

Developing the wind areas already approved off the Atlantic Coast could power 6 million homes. But, unlocking more of offshore wind power’s potential depends in large part on America’s Atlantic Seaboard states and their governors.

Committing to the future

Once wind farms are in operation, the fuel is free: Nobody can charge you for the wind. The Atlantic Coast is especially well-suited for wind power, with shallow waters and millions of people living close to shore. The upfront investment, however, in building and erecting turbines and laying transmission lines, is significant. It pays for itself in the long term, so it requires a long-term commitment. That’s where state governors come in.

The governors of Atlantic states have the power to forge long-term commitments to get more of our energy from offshore wind. Our Go Big On Offshore Wind campaign is asking the governors of six states, from Massachusetts to North Carolina, to make these commitments.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo celebrates Block Island Wind Farm.

A race to the top

Similar to our Go Solar campaign, we’re encouraging a race to the top among state leaders on offshore wind. The benefits are clear: cleaner air and fewer local climate-disrupting emissions as offshore wind replaces fossil fuel-fired power plants; and a more diverse economy, as companies build, erect and maintain offshore wind farms. We’re working to document and make these benefits understood, not just by the governors of these states, but by local officials, business groups, consumer groups, environmental and civic groups.

Research & action

Environment America Research and Policy Center and our Atlantic Coast affiliates are well-positioned to make this case. We’ve written seven reports on the benefits of offshore wind. We have organizers and activists in every state. And thanks to our staff and supporters, we have a strong and long track record of creative action and transpartisan results on clean energy.

We have the power

Wind technology is rapidly improving. Wind power prices are steadily dropping. In the face of climate change, the need for carbon-free, renewable wind power could not be greater. If we act now, offshore wind could someday provide up to 40 percent of the East Coast’s power.

Environment America Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to getting things done.